And When Comic Party Closed
by Miz-KTakase
Summary: The debut of our "Tales of the Bizarre" seasonal series, involving stories of sci-fi, horror, the supernatural, and other bizarre and scary moments. In our opening one-shot, Eimi Ohba is having a scary thought about Yuu Inagawa, as a few of her friends think that the doujinshi artist doesn't exist. Rated T for mild language and themes.


At a small hospital, a girl with long black hair was sitting in bed. She had her ankle bandaged, during her trip. One day, a girl with short green hair, a red shirt and brown shorts appeared, as she was feeling blue. She sat by her and said, as she was forcing a smile on her face, "Hi, Aya. Am I glad to see you?"

Aya said, "Oh, hello… Miss Eimi. What brings you here?"

Eimi said, "Oh. I forgot. Here."

She gave her a bouquet of tulips and carnations, as Aya smiled, "They're beautiful."

Eimi remarked, as she was feigning a smile, "Well, I didn't want one of Comic Party's original doujinshi artists be succumbed to bed, all upset, during _Golden Week_. By the way, how _did _you bake your ankle?"

Aya said, "_Break _my ankle? Oh, well… I was leaving my table and… and I tripped on the table's leg. I fell down and twisted my ankle, really bad. Everyone, including Kazuki, was there, and they helped me up to a medical area. The doctor said I can leave, tomorrow…"

Eimi said, as she was pissed, "Fumiyun! You had to be reckless! How on earth did you break it, like that? I sold out, but I never take injuries, except when I have writer's cramp! The great Eimi Ohba is doable and strong!"

Aya said, "_Durable_…"

Eimi was crossed, as she suddenly started to cry, "I can't take it!"

She sat down, feeling her head. She held a picture of her and Aya, as she was whimpering.

"Panda… Where did you go?"

"Huh? Something wrong?"

Eimi said, "It's this way… My favorite rival, the _Hot Springs Panda_, Yuu Inagawa… She's… She's gone…"

Aya asked, "Gone?"

Eimi explained, as she showed the picture, "Look. This is a picture of you, me, and her. But Hot Springs Panda is missing in the shot! I wonder why… It was after we did Comic Party that we went out to get ourselves some lunch, the next day, and it was _her _treat, as usual. Eimi _never _spends her money on food, if any… but it went so terribly wrong…"

* * *

_Picture if you will, one Eimi Ohba, fresh off of Golden Week, a refreshed doujinshi artist, and a worried wreck. In this story, you will see how she had it all, and lost the one soul that gave her heart and soul in Comic Party. Eimi Ohba, and her friends, is about to encounter… a __**Tale of the Bizarre**__…_

* * *

"_**Tales of the Bizarre" in:  
And When Comic Party Closed…**_

* * *

_A week ago…_

* * *

At a small diner, Eimi Ohba and Yuu Inagawa were having lunch. Yuu, a girl with long brown hair, a red jacket and green shirt, and dark pants, was finishing her plate of rice, as Eimi had the soba noodles.

Eimi said, "What a day, yesterday! Who knew I sold out, minutes before the event ended? I'm super lucky!"

Yuu snuffed, "You're lucky, whenever _you _sold out, all the time."

Eimi held the picture and said, "Still, before Kazuki came, you, me, and Aya Hasebe were the original artisans in the world of Doujinshi! Of course, then came Subaru…"

Yuu said, "Don't haze at Subie, like that. I hope one day she'd become a famous doujinshi artist. But I wouldn't hold your breath… if you _did_, anyway."

Eimi sighed, "Fumiyun… Sometimes I wish everything changes."

Yuu said in a deep tone, "Sometimes…"

"Eh?"

"Sometimes… I wish I didn't belong… I mean, I sell doujinshi, all for fun and heart, but it's like… where do I go from here?"

"Hey, Panda? You feel okay?"

She thought, "Super funny! She's in depression!"

Yuu said, as she held her body, "I don't know… It's like…"

She got up and went to the payphone. She said, "Sorry… But, I need to make a call."

She left, as Eimi cried, "WAIT! What about me?"

Yuu said, "Oh, yeah. Pay the bill."

Eimi gasped, "WHAAAAAAT?"

She walked away, as Eimi grumbled, "Damn that Panda! Why couldn't she just hurry up?"

She pouted, as she was sitting patiently for Yuu to come back. She slouched a bit and waited for twenty minutes. She was then handed the bill to lunch. She saw it and asked the waitress, "Excuse me, Miss? We're paying Dutch. My friend is paying the bill."

The waitress asked, "Excuse me?"

"I know what I ordered, and I know who I ate with!"

The waitress responded, "Oh, no. You were there, and you ordered a plate of soba ramen."

Eimi cried, "ARE YOU MAD? Look at her plate! My friend had-!"

She gasped, as she saw Yuu's plate disappear, completely, napkin and all. She trembled, as the waitress said, "Miss, you know that you came alone, without anybody…"

Eimi cried, "NO!"

She stormed off and ran to the payphone. She gasped and looked inside. There was no one there. She thought, "_Dine and dash_?! Damn that stupid panda! She bailed on me!"

She said, as she was scared, "But… she went to the phone and never came out. How did she do that?"

Eimi trembled, and then laughed in fake humor, "Ha, ha, ha. Very funny, Panda. I don't know how you did it, but… but it's not going to punk the great Eimi Ohba!"

She laughed heartily, as the waitress asked, "Are you going to pay the check?"

**XXXXX**

Minutes later, Eimi felt uneasy, knowing her rival had vanished. And she thinks that Yuu had bailed on her. But she doesn't know. Even in her pea brain head, she hasn't the slightest clue on where Yuu was. She then thought, "Oh, wait… Maybe… Maybe her friends can help out! I'll have them find Panda and search for her!"

She ran off, as she was cheering in excitement, "Eimi Ohba, you super genius!"

She ran to where Mizuki and Kazuki are, the apartments.

**XXXXX**

She met with Mizuki Takase, who was serving tea. She had long red hair and a blue shirt.

"So, you mean to tell me you had a friend that disappeared, after you went to Comic Party?" She asked.

Eimi said, "Yeah. You remember her, do you?"

Mizuki said, "Well, no. Who is it? I'm curious."

"Surely you'd remember her. She's the Hot Spring Panda."

"A Panda?"

"No, _Panda_. It's a nickname I gave her, out of her trades."

"I think you mean _traits_. But still, who would be at the right mind to leave you?"

"ARE YOU DEAF? Yuu Inagawa! She's gone! She was at the diner, and she was making a phone call! And the next thing I knew, she was gone!"

Mizuki shook her head and said, "I see. But you know, this girl called Yuu Inagawa seemed nice, if I ever met her."

Eimi shook in fear and cringed, "You… You don't remember her? She was with Sendo, your ex-boyfriend!"

Mizuki huffed, "I'm ignoring him, since he's busy."

She said, "But still, if I knew her, I know. You're just imagining things."

Eimi sipped her tea and sobbed, "I need to know… I even tried calling the _Onsen _that she goes to…"

She trembled, "I met with the boss… who was Panda's mother… And she said that she never had a daughter named Yuu Inagawa!"

Mizuki asked, as she grew worried, "Eimi? You don't look so good. Are you sure you're not lying?"

"I'M NOT LYING! Yuu… Panda… Why did she leave me? I know she bailed on me, like always, and she…"

She then thought, and asked her, "Was there something else that happened?"

Mizuki said, "Well… I know Hasabe sold a lot, but did well. And Subaru, she-."

Eimi cheered, "SUBARU?! SMART THINKING!"

She said, "I bet that little brat knows more about Yuu, than I do!"

She stormed off and cried, "Thanks for the tea!"

Mizuki then said, as Eimi departed, "Strange… She said Yuu Inagawa… but… Who is she?"

Even as Eimi described her, Mizuki never recalled a Yuu.

**XXXXX**

Eimi was hiding in the bushes, as Subaru was walking down the street. She spotted her and whispered, "Hey. Subie. Subie!"

Subaru Mikage, with long brown hair, in her aqua blouse and silver pants, halted and was confused.

"Subaru hears something…" she whispered, "Who is there?"

Eimi called, from the bushes, "Subaru!"

"PAGYU?! A talking bush?" She cringed in terror, "Subaru is scared by this, you know."

"NO! It's me! Eimi Ohba!"

"AAH! The bush sounded like Eimi!"

Eimi popped out and shouted, "DARN IT!"

Subaru shrieked, "AAAH!"

Eimi calmed her down, as Subaru said, "Oh… Miss Eimi? It's nice to see you."

Eimi barked, "Cut it! Eimi has questions about Comic Party, from yesterday!"

"Oh?"

"Did you see anything strange, like someone disappeared?"

"Strange?"

She pondered and said, "OH! I think I know… When I was selling my doujinshi, at that Comic Party, I think I saw Kazuki and Mizuki walk together, preparing for his brand-new doujinshi. And then, there was the usual selling, including that nice girl in glasses… and another was from little Ikumi-chan… And then you showed up, calling out, _"I SOLD OUT!"_ and suddenly left, before the event closed."

Eimi asked, "What about Yuu Inagawa?"

"Who?"

"_WHO?! _Yuu Inagawa! Glasses… long hair… orange coat… small size… ANYTHING?"

Subaru pondered, as she said, "No… I met a lot of people in glasses and long hair, but I don't know a fan named-."

"NOOOOOOOO! I mean a doujinshi artist, like me!"

She showed the picture and said, "SEE? There's me, in the middle, with Panda by my side, and Aya on the other! Tell me so that it's _not _her!"

Subaru asked, "PAGYU? Are you sure you took it with Yuu?"

Eimi said, "As a matter of fact-."

She looked at the picture and gasped in horror. The picture showed Eimi and Aya on the photo, smiling. Yuu was nowhere to be found.

Eimi trembled in fear and sobbed, "No… How can this be? What could she mean?"

Subaru asked, "Are you okay, Eimi?"

Eimi slinked away and said, "Eh, heh, heh, heh… I'll try _another _person. Thank you for your time."

She then thought, "Yuu…"

_Yuu said in a deep tone, "Sometimes…"_

"_Eh?"_

"_Sometimes… I wish I didn't belong… I mean, I sell doujinshi, all for fun and heart, but it's like… where do I go from here?"_

"_Hey, Panda? You feel okay?"_

"AAAGH!" She shrieked, "I HAVE TO KNOW! SHE WAS AT COMIC PARTY! SHE HAD A WALL SPOT! SHE'S A DOUJINSHI ARTIST!"

She stormed off, as she headed to see Minami Makimura.

"She could tell me!" She smiled, "Who better than to know everybody in Comic Party than Maki? This is super amazing! I'm super tired of this… Panda, please come back… It's not funny, anymore…"

**XXXXX**

At Minami's office, Eimi came to see her, all frantic and sobbing. She pleaded to her, as Maki, in her blue sweater and long hair in glasses, asked her what was wrong with her.

Eimi said, "Tell me. Do you know of a Yuu Inagawa of Comic Party?"

Minami asked, "Huh? What do you mean, Miss Eimi?"

"You know… Hot Springs owner… Kobe, Japan… weird glasses… stupid Panda… Uh…"

"Uh, that's not good detail."

"Can I, at least, view a list of doujinshi artists?"

Minami asked, "How come? Is there anybody you wanted to see? I mean, I doubt that this Inagawa girl is in this."

Eimi huffed, "I'm dead searing!"

"Dead _serious_?"

"She's good friends with this Kazuki Sendo! She, I, Aya Hasebe, and Subaru Mikage are all infamous doujinshi artists! I'd show you the photo, but you'd laugh…"

Minami said, "Oh. Was it when you and Miss Hasebe took it, together?"

Eimi then said, "Yes. I remember… It was the Comic Party, before Golden Week, which was yesterday… She, Aya, and I… We had to take a picture together, since we were going on vacation. And then… Well, let's see… I went to the carnival and had to go to the roller coaster, having fun. And then I was at the aquarium, viewing the cute fish in the tanks… and…"

"Oh, I see. But Golden Week was last year. It's not until tomorrow."

"I know. I'm doing it again, for tomorrow. Plus, I'll be having myself a huge sushi buffet! But it won't be the same, if I have Kobe beef in sushi. Kobe reminds me of-."

"Okay. Calm down. You can view the list. I don't present this to anybody, except for my boss."

She gave her a long list, which was in alphabetical order, from last name. Eimi snatched the list and smiled, "Now, the moment you've been waiting for!"

She read the list and pointed out, "I see Aya's… and then Kazuki's… me… Subaru's… and…"

She read through the list, thoroughly, and suddenly read through it again, in a frantic glance. She roared, "FUMIYUN! FUMIYUN! NO! NO, NO, NO!"

She shrilled, "SHE'S NOT IN THE LIST!"

She pouted, "Super boo…"

Minami asked, "Uh, what's wrong, Eimi?"

Eimi sobbed, as she dropped the list, "No… Yuu Inagawa… she…"

Minami looked at the list and said, "Well, I think I made my point. A Miss Inagawa is _not _on the list. As a matter of fact, I never met a Yuu Inagawa, before."

Eimi wailed, as Minami comforted her, "No, don't cry. It's an honest mistake… or, maybe you were overworking yourself in your studies and doujinshi."

Eimi huffed, as she pouted, "Pooh! I am _not _overworked! I was there, today, with Panda… and she-."

Minami stated, "Alright. I want you to explain it to me, what happened that day, Eimi."

Eimi growled, "Never mind. There's only _one _person who knows of this matter!"

She announced, "KAZUKI SENDO!"

She dashed off, as Minami cried, "Eimi, wait! Come back!"

She thought, "She's losing herself… Why is she convinced that this Yuu Inagawa, or something, is real?"

**XXXXX**

Eimi returned to the apartments, as she knocked on Kazuki's door. She cried out, "Kazuki! Kazuki!"

She blubbered, "I beg of you, Sendo. Stop what you're doing and answer me!"

He opened the door, showing himself in black hair with a white shirt and jeans, and asked, "Eimi? What's wrong?"

Eimi sobbed, "I… It's… about Panda…"

Kazuki asked, "Who?"

Eimi started to swell tears in her eyes, as her cheeks turned red. She sniffled in sadness, "Do you know of a Yuu Inagawa?"

Kazuki said, "Who? Was she someone you know?"

He comforted her and asked, "What happened?"

Eimi said, "It's simple… I was with Yuu, in the diner, having lunch. And all of a sudden… Panda started to say something like… like she wished she didn't belong… I mean, she is a great doujinshi artist… and… Well, the next thing I knew, she told me to pay the bill, after she went to the phone. I waited twenty minutes and had to pay for the _whole _bill! I stormed off and found Panda in the phone, only to reveal that she's vanished! I was scared… when Mizuki, Subaru, Maki, and everyone… they didn't know about Hot Spring Panda… not even her mother… I called her and she said that she _never _had a daughter named Yuu!"

She whined, "I'm not making this story up! It's happening! Yuu Inagawa is punking me! I know it!"

Kazuki said, "Maybe she had to go somewhere for an errand. She couldn't have disappeared."

Eimi showed the photo and shouted, "You don't believe me? Remember Comic Party, yesterday! Yuu, Aya, and I took this photo! But suddenly, the Hot Spring Panda just magically disappeared! I wanted to know what the hell is going on!"

She sobbed, as he comforted her, "Eimi… It's fine. It doesn't matter if you cared for this girl…"

"I don't like her… but I wish… I did…"

"This girl… she doesn't exist. I never met her, either. And before you ask, Taishi never met her."

"But… What about your _first _Comic Party?"

"Well, that was when I met you, Chisa, Maki, and I think Aya. Mizuki and I were forced to be there, by Taishi. And well… the rest was history."

Eimi's hands started to shake, as Kazuki continued, "Since then, I've learned how to make doujinshi, even though Mizuki disapproves of it. So we broke up, and I have gained focus between each other."

Eimi shrilled, "NO! You met Yuu, Mizuki stayed by your side, you suddenly had a meltdown, after a failed comic, and Panda gave you words of encouragement! Remember?"

She pleaded, "Kazuki, please… You should know that Yuu is not playing around! I mean…"

He interrupted, "Don't you think that this Yuu girl is back at the diner? She was obviously hiding from you, after you ran off. Either way, I never knew of her."

Eimi shivered, as her legs knocked together, "No… She wouldn't be at that…"

She had a glimpse and said, "Wait a minute…"

Her eyes trickled down in tears, as she laughed, "She's at the diner… You don't say… Imagine that…"

She wept, "She's at the… diner… Panda… Panda…"

She seethed, "Panda!"

She hollered, "**PANDAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**"

She stormed off, yelling, "YOU SUPER PISSED ME OFF, FOR THE LAST TIME, YOU DAMN HOT SPRINGS PANDA! YOU'RE SUPER DEAD! FLANK ON IT, BUDDY!"

Kazuki said, "She's crazy! And didn't she mean _"Bank _on it"?"

He shut the door and continued to work on his next manga.

**XXXXX**

Eimi returned to the diner, as she was in the middle of the area.

The waitress asked, "Miss? You came back. How may I-?"

Eimi glared, "WHERE IS SHE?"

She shouted, "DAMN IT, HOT SPRINGS PANDA! COME OUT HIDING!"

The crowd saw her, as they were concerned and staring at her, thinking Eimi is making a scene. She is.

"Miss, calm down!" The waitress ordered.

Eimi snapped, "SHUT UP! Yuu Inagawa, you're a dead woman!"

"That woman, again? Miss, you should leave… You're causing a scene in the restaurant!"

She dropped to her knees and sobbed, holding her head down, shaking in a frantic and shocked state, "Panda… Where did you go? Come back, Panda…"

The waitress said, "Miss, seriously… You have to leave…"

She kept crying, as she was on the tile floor, pleading for Yuu to come out. She hasn't.

Eimi sobbed, "Panda… I know you're trying to trick me… but it's not working… Panda… Panda… PANDA!"

She wailed, as the waitress calmed her down. Eimi shoved her off, as she hollered, "NO! I WANT MY PANDA BACK!"

She continued to cry, as the waitress went to the phone to call the police.

* * *

Eimi said, as she was on the bed, "After that… I was escorted away, realizing that I was losing my mind. I wasn't… The _waitress_ is nuts! Panda… Panda shouldn't have disappeared… Yuu Inagawa… was my friend… Why did she have to go? Why?"

She was saddened, as Aya said, "Miss Eimi… There was NO Yuu Inagawa… It was all a dream."

Eimi barked, "Easy for you to say! YOU had a broken ankle, during Golden Week! I _never _went anywhere, still under depression, over losing Yuu…"

Aya asked, "Which is it – Panda or Yuu? You kept saying her name, like she was real…"

Eimi wiped her tears and said, "It doesn't matter. I've come to the conclusion that Yuu Inagawa is gone forever… and my life… is empty… but, I'm happy. Yuu Inagawa is gone forever… and the great Eimi Ohba… will make mangas, forever, and oust that Hot Spring Panda."

She smiled, as she looked up, "But, without her… it feels like… like it's empty… I mean, think about it. It's like…"

She let out a huge grin, "There are times when all you wanted to be… was invisible… like I don't belong here… It's like… a manga page… Erase a character and make a new story out of… it…"

She paused, as she turned to a small mirror. She looked at her hands and was in concern. She gasped, as her reflection was all transparent. She then gasped, as tears rolled down her cheeks, holding her face, in complete fright.

"Oh, no… Oh, no!" She gasped, "NO! I don't want to go, like her! Don't let this happen, Aya…"

Aya asked, "Are you okay, Eimi?"

She reached for her, but Eimi slapped her hand off. She yelled, "NO! DON'T MAKE ME DISAPPEAR, LIKE HER!"

She shrieked, as she stormed out of the hospital room, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Aya cried, "EIMI!"

She called to the hallways, "SOMEONE STOP HER! NURSE! NURSE! SOMEBODY STOP HER!"

The nurse asked, "Her, who?"

"Eimi Ohba! She's in the hallway, as she was in this room!"

"Where did she go?"

Aya pointed at the hallway, turning left, and said, "I think she went that way!"

The nurse went to find Eimi, as Aya said, "Eimi… She's losing it. I hope she feels okay…"

She returned to her room and looked around, "My flowers…"

Her flowers that Eimi gave her had vanished. She sobbed, "Eimi didn't give me-. You don't think…"

She looked at the photo that Eimi left behind. She saw the photo and gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. She threw the photo down, showing just Aya, smiling softly to the camera. Eimi _and _Yuu were not in the picture.

Aya trembled, as she started to feel funny.

"No… Eimi _was _right… She's…"

Her arms started to stiffen, as she was freezing in place.

"I… I feel… stiiii…"

She was frozen in place, standing in the room.

**XXXXX**

Meanwhile, outside the hall, a doctor in a blue coat responded to the nurse, "Well, we'll have this room set for the next patient. Says that he suffered from a broken leg, after smashing it in a kayak ride, during Golden Week."

He opened the door, as the room showed a bed in white linen. Aya suddenly disappeared, since the doctor and the nurse entered the same room that Aya was in. The doctor said, as he adjusted the bed, "We'll change the linen to this bed, while-."

He spread out the sheets and found a small plush doll, inside. The doll looked exactly like Aya, down to her blue hair, black shirt, and beige skirt. The nurse changed the sheets, as the doctor picked up the plush doll.

"Some kids never learn," he said, as he gave the nurse the Aya doll, "Whenever they come here, for visiting, they always leave their toys, lying around."

He said, "Well. No matter. Take the doll to the lost and found. And we'll give our injury prone patient a small treatment here…"

The nurse took the doll away, as the doctor shut the door.

* * *

Later, Subaru was walking to the park, as she was smiling. She said, "PAGYU! I cannot wait to see Chisa, you know! I can't wait to show her what I won at the prize machine!"

Her blue bag showed a small plush doll that resembles Eimi, right down to her green hair, snaggletooth smile, and her red top and shorts, dangling around, as she walked by.

* * *

Meanwhile, at a small store, a girl with long black hair and purple overalls was at the crane machine. She won a prize from inside. She had a small plush doll that resembles Yuu Inagawa, with her glasses, coat, pants, and even had a small paper fan on her right hand. The girl blushed and said, "Aw… How cute…"

She clipped it in her purse, with her keychain, on the small red loop on top of her head.

* * *

_Once upon a time, there were three famous doujinshi artists, named Eimi Ohba, Yuu Inagawa, and Aya Hasebe. They were famous doujinshi artists, but as of today, no longer existed. Some say that they were spirits of their former selves, or some were brought to life, by a certain magical being. However, the truth is that these three women were young and famous, as authors of their famous mangas… but are now ghosts, forgotten by all, except for themselves, in the world of Comic Party.  
And as for their many accomplishments and moments in Comic Party, that, too, does not exist. They are simply mere myths, locked away in obscurity and inertia. Three wandering souls – Ohba, Inagawa, and Hasebe… fade to nothing… but a blank page in a manga… called a __**Tale of the Bizarre**__…_

* * *

_**Thanks for Reading!**_

* * *

_**FAQ: **__This story parodies The Twilight Zone's "And When the Sky Opened." This version has a very bizarre (and cute) ending, other than fading from existence. This is more of a lighter and simpler version, with very much dialogue._


End file.
